Cutting machine



Feb. 4, 1930. B. RABlNowl'rz CUTTING MACHINEl Filed Sept. 17, 1926 I 4 Sheetssheet 2 MAQ -AITQRNE cUTTING MAGHIE Filed sept. 17. 1926 4 sheets-sheet 5 ATDRNEY Fel-a. 4, 1930. B. RABlNowl'rz CUTTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 17, 1926 4 Sheetis-Sheet 4 IPHYKENTOR,

B Y @Z4/l,

ATTORNEY Patentedk Febfil,` 193) PATENT OFFlfCE BENJAMIN RABINOWITZ, .or B RooKLyN, NEW from;

CUTTING MACHINE Application filed September 17, 1926. Serial No. 136,038.

The .object-of my invention is to vproa/ide :a machiney for cuttinga strip into .a plurality of sections of equal length. 011e of the principal uses yof my invention isv foreutting or subdividing a labelstrip into equal units. It is-common practice 'to employ woven or print` ed cloth labelswhich are .formed fin long-strips and which are individually cut :trom the strip and aresewn -upon garments, underwear yand the like, to Lform simple 'labels or vto dorm yhangers and labels. Heretofore, `it has been common to individually I'cut lthe separate Ilabels from the long strips by hand and in manufacturing plants Where thousands :of labels yare used leach Aday this entails considerable hand-labor. It has not'lbeen practicable 'to provide a machine for successively and indi-- viduallyV cutting separate `labels from the strip by revolving means, because the individual labels 'are not uniform owing ltothe variable character ofthe fabric.A If afmachine of such character were'set tocut labels sayit-wo inches long, vand `the operation proceeded in a continuous order, 'the slight variations in the lengths oftheindividual units on the strip of ylabels would varyand these variations would be fcu'mulative, Vso that the machine, afteroperating yfor a short time, wouldbe cutting'throu'gh the labels'instead lof between I the'enfds oi adjacent'labels. The object yof lthe present vmachine is 5to"simultaneously cut a plurality of individual labels from a continuous strip, -the1strip vbeing set lby manualoperf ation for each cut.' The cut is 'therefore determined by the operator thesame as in yhand .cutting but instead'oi a single'label being cut f at each operational number of labels are cut lI'romthe strip. lllVhilethe labels on thestrip 'as a'whole may vary, the variations overa short .length ofthe stripmay be negligible and with the present machine there is all the adf vantage of manual control kfor determining the points A of cutting without "having the "ir-v regularities.accumulate over the whole length Aofthe 'label strip. invention therefore includes primarily ap'lurality yof cutting mem bers or shears in gang formation, each Vpair oi shears beingadapted to preferably cut s"im multaneously through a strip of fabric; and m' kI provide means for readily and simultaneously yadjusting the -`distances between -the severalshears i-norder to increase-'or ydecrease `the length `of :cut according to the .length of 'the individual labels. rllh'e 'severall shears may be collectively adjusted in their lrelative'posi- 55 tions by .a lsingle adjusting means 'and 'this operation may ibe performed very quickly 'so that vthezmachi-ne `maybe readily adjusted for labels of' different llen'gths. l/Vhile two `Vor more adjacent labels on thestrip may vary 6o slightly in'their positions-or lengths, the'vari ationfbetween adjacent labels isslight ascompared with the ftotall variation in the whole strip of labels. Therefore -anumber 'of slabels may he simultaneously severed f-romftherstrip 6( without substantial variation, ibut vas 'the 'st-rip is manually positioned each time -a set of labels iscut, the :inaccuracies Lare not 'cumulative in ithe operation ef cuttingthe whole strip into individual labels.

invention also includes a single device for vdrawing the strip into position vacross the several shears and it also comprises means for operating 'theshcars 'fby power where is desired. Gtherobjeots and advantages will 75 be set forth inthe following detailedlescription of my invention.

in thefd'rawings forming' part'of this application, i

v`ligurel isan end elevation of amaclri-ne 80 embodying my invention in the preferred form,

Figure 2 is an 'elevation ofone side of the machine, laportion `of the l:Eramebe'ingbroken away, i

Figure LV3 is a sectional view taken yon 4the Figure 4 4is a sectional view'taken on 'the line 'i1- 4 'oiFigure 3,

.Figure '5 is an enlarged plan view of a'p'or` 95 tion of vthe shears and the `device for position'ingthe strip .oi' fabric in `relation lto ythe shears,

Figure vv6 yis a persp'e'ctiveview oi the device fordrawing the ystrip of VJfabric across 'the 95 path oi the shears,

Figure 7'is an endview of-aiportionof 'the machine, A

vFigure 8 isa :cross sectional View showing vthenriechanism for'operatingtheshearbladea 100 Figure 9 is an enlarged elevation of the devices for regulating the spacing of the shears, Y

Figure 10 1s a sectional view thereof taken on the line 10-10 of Figure 9,

Figure 11 isa sectional view of certain sleeves andy collars with which the spacingy springs co-operate, y

Figure 121s an elevation of one of the pairs of shears, and

Figure 13 is a sectional view-thereof taken on the line 13-13 of Figure 12.

Figure 14 is a section of a planetary gear device. I l i A In the drawings I have shown the operating parts of the machine mounted onaframe pulley 5 on the shaft of this motor operates ,l

a belt 6 which engages around a pulley 7 arranged upon the shaft 8 extendinglongitudinally of the machine There lare shown three eccentrics 9 mounted upon this shaft and with each eccentric there is associated an upfwardly extendingarm 10 and on the f-ree ends of these armsthere is carried a longitudinally extending shaft 11 whichfoperates on all of the several shears for operating the blades of the shears to close and open them to perform the cutting` operation.y j

Each pair' of shears includes a plurality of blades as shown in Figures 12 and l13. One of these blades 12, is provided with a notch 13 at one end to receive therein the shaft 14 and adjacent the other end there is a notch 15 eX- tending inwardly from one of they side edges to receive the shaft 16 therein. This shear blade has a fcutting edge 17 with whichl the other' blade of the pair cca-operates. The

'f ther'blade of the shear is shown at 18:4and

for the purpose of closing and opening the aladesof the shear. This construction of shear blades `lis the same for each pair Yand there may Abe any'desired number of shears inthe gang. In the embodiment of my invention shown .herein there are thirteen .such

pairs .of-shears although, as above stated,

the'number may beincreased or decreased.

.The shear blades 12 'arelstationary while the machine is in operation 'and the blades'12 are supported atoneend by the shaft 14and `-at the oppositeend bythe shaft 16. .In order 'others n 'the several sprmgs`24 are alwaysunder com- V mechanism which includes a lazy-tong device. Y

This is shown more in Vdetail in Figures 9 to 11. On the shaft 16 there is arranged for each pair of shears a sleeve 22 which loosely fits f the shafts and the thickness of which is the same vas the shears, and which sleeve is adapted to be moved lengthwise along this shaft. At opposite sides of'each of these sleeves I 'have provided spring cups 23 facing alternately in opposite directions, each of which forms an abutment member for one end of the coiled spring 24, these cups being also freely movable lengthwise ofthis shaft. Be-

tween the opposing cups of each set there is a coiled spring 24 surrounding thev shaft 16 v and pressed between the opposing :cups so as to exert an outward or spreading pressure against each set of cups. The lazy-tong de-.e

vice is connected with rand supported bythe sleeves 22 which are mounted'on the shaft 16 as above described. There fis, a vertical bar 25 fined to' or made integral with 'each sleeve 22 and each Vsuch bar hangs downwardly from its sleeve and collectively they support the lazy-tong device.v ThelaZy-tongvr device consists of a series of lever arms 26y and 27 each pair kcrossing the 'otherand pivoted together by means lof the pivots 28..

One end of each arm -26is lpivoted tothe vertical bar 25 by means of the pin 29 and the opposite or lower end of the samearm is pivot-ed by means of the pin 30 to the low- 31 of the bar to allow for the opening and closing of thelaZy-tong levers, the upper'V ends of the levers remaining'in fixed relation tothe shaft 16. It will be understood ing pin 30. It will be apparent that if the Y sleeves 22 are moved'along the shaft 14 to increase or decrease thelspacingoffzthese sleeves, the vertical bars 25-will also be moved toward or from each other, and if the several levers of the lazy-tong device are of equal length, as shown in the drawings, thefsleeves 22 will always be spaced equal distances apart one from the other throughout thewholeseries. In other words, if thespacingbetween any two of the sleeves isaltered the same adjustment will take placebetween all. of the' In the `construction shown herein pression sothatthey are always tendingrto force the cups 23 and thereforethe'sleeves 22 in oppositedir'ections or awayfromV each* other.

er end of the vertical bar 25 thelatter pin being arranged to slide vertically inthe slot y cate the'lazy-ton-g arrangement ust described.

On thisfshaft I have shown a sleeve l32 for eachpairof shears and on each side of the sl'eeveithere isa spring cup r33 fthe sleeves and sjcups ybein-g freely slidabfle upon the shaft.

n Betwe'enfopp'osing Acups `and between adjacent pairs rof shears there are coiled springs 34surro-u1irdirrg the shaft 16 and exerting an opposite thrust on thegcups of 'each set. These *sleeves and cups are shown in detail in Figl ure 11 and las above stated, they differ from the previously described members in that the lever arrangement lof Figure -9 may be omitted.` f j y The opposite ends of the `stationary blade offeachshe'ar lis carried'by `one of the sleeves. For instance, the 'notch 1'5 in one end of the l' shearlblade 12 receivesl therein one of the sleeves 22 on lthe shaft 16 vso that this end 'lof fthevshear is 'supported from this shaft through the ysliding sleeve; and the blade of they shear lifes between two ofl the adjacent spring cups 23 Yso that the 'shear may be shifted longitudinally' of the `shaft through "the'action ofthe spring cups. At the opposite lend vthe stationary 'blade receives in the notch 13 one of the sleeves 32 which is mounted upon the 'shaft 14 and this 'end of the shear blade lies between adjacent spring cups 33 so that this end ofthe shear blade may be shift-ed longitudinally of the shaft through the action of these spring cups.

It Will be v apparent that When the 'stationary Vblade is shifted llaterally it Will 'carry the movable ANblade 158' with it and When this occurs` the movable blade may 'slide along vthe shaft 11 e 4eibe manually operated 'by means of a crank which iis the member which opens and closes the `shear blades. 1

fThe're is a'shaft 35 extending longitudinally Iof the machine -and it is adapted to 36 randrv handle 37 outside vone of the -end frames.y This shaft is threaded asshoW-n at 38 and 'there is a' Acompressing member "39 vmounted to slide along the shaft 16 and it is provided With a threaded 'hub -40 through Which the threaded shaft engages, so that When Vfthe latter shaft is revolved the -comrpressing member L39 is vshifted either to the Q Soi rightor left along Tthe shaft 16 in Figure 2. If 'this compressing member is moved to ,y the right in Figure 2 it VWill act upohthe left hand lpair ofv shears and as the movelmentiof the'compressing member is continued p60 theshafts 14, 156, When acted upon by the-'comby the revolution 'of the shaft 35 the action lWill 'be:transmittedk from one pair of shears tor the other through rthe intermediate coiled springsr24 and y34.l f f In order to facilitate -th'e shifting of the several shears, sleeves and spring cups 'upon pressing meniberBQ, I have found it desirable', not :absolutely necessaryytof rapidly ,revolfvetheshafts 14, 16 on which "thezsesev-r eral'members are supported info-rider that the sleeves, :springs and spring cups will not bind upon -these shafts, but will adjust themselves in order to facilitate an equal spacing ofthe 'several -pairs -of shears. For this purpose I have provided a sprocket Wheel 41'on the shaft 35 which is the yone operated by I means of the hand 'crank 36, and this sprocket f drives a chain 42 which is endless. .This chai-n passes 'around "the sprocket '43 'fixed on the shfa'ft14., thence around an .idler :sprocket 44, thence around the sprocket 45 on vthe shaft 16 back'to the .sprocket 4l. It n Will be apparent from this that Whenever the shaft revolved to yalter the position lof the compression member 39 the shafts 14, 16 Will also be revolved and this Will facilitate the automatic-or :individual adjustment 'of th several sets of shears.

I have shown a notch 46 in the end of each of the stationary shear blades 12v-and there is a shaft 47 held by vspring fingers 48 attached to the frame of the machine, and this shaft engaging in these slots serves to hold 'the stationa/-ry shear blades from lbeing dislodged f from the shaft 1f6 While the 'machine is in operation. y

The roll of tape 49 from Which the labels are to becut is mounted onfan arbor 5,0 which is supported by the bracket 51 from .a' platform 52 arranged approximately inline with the blades of the shears. The end of the tape is 4brought A'from this roll under the guide plate 53 which is also attached to this pla-tfor-m. 'The Vforward fend ofthis lguide plate is provided with serrati'ons 54 the points of' at each yend and there is asplitsleeve J58 which is snapped 'over-the sleeve 56 to lie between the flanges 57 so tha-t the-sleeve .may slide ytogether along the shaft 54a. -rThe outer 4sleeve 58 is provided 'with projections or fingers 59 which reach over into fthe :line Z'of 4the guide plate 53 and one edge fofeach-'of these fingers is. provided With serrations 60 which are adapted to move in between the serrations 54 of the guide plate. 'llhere is a tong"arrange-v ment comprising levers e61 hinged yto each other at the poi-nth@ and the forward vends of these levers serve as handles, Whereas the opposite ends 63 are turned l'inwardly and are' riveted respectively lto the arms 59.' By

pressing the handles 61 `together the arms 63 `spread yafp'art and they lspread the fingers 59 in :orderto lrelease the label strip from l'the ends of the latten-whereas When fthe finger pieces "6l are lreleased the fingers-59 .spring toward `each other andgrifp the label strip sov betweengt-hem.; ,rs By :means offthe linger pieces 61'the4 gripping device may be slid along the shareY 54e. l I f f f v`'Ivlie shears are adapted I to be Vclosed and opened by kmeansof the motor 4, in the present arrangement, and I :have provided a clutchdevice for-,causing the motor to revolve the shaft 8 one revolution and then come to a stopyautomatically. In Figure 1 I have showna `lever464 pivotedfto the frame atthe point 565 'and-j provided with va finger piece 66 by which this lever may befraised in opposition to the spring 67 which has atendencytodrawthis lever downwardly. There is a .link 68 which is pivotedwto this leverV at 69j and/this link is guided bymeans of a screw 7 0 which engages in the elongated slot 71fof the link. The lower end of this link is connected'rrbya pin and slot connection72 with -ythe pawl lever 73` which ris pivoted to the frame at the point 74; andv on the end ofthis pawl lever Vthere is afpawl 7 5 which is adapted to engage in one ofthe notches 76 of the clutch member 77 arranged upon the shaft 8.

The casing member 90 isprovided with a projection 78 which is adapted to engage rthe hooked end 79 of the lever ,80. which is pivotedto-thejframe at the point 81. Another arm of this lever is drawn upwardly by coiled spring 82 having one end attached to'this leverand the other end to a part of the frame. One arm of the pawl lever 73 is connected to the lever 80 by a short link 83. The electric motor; 4 may be operated continuously and when itis desired to actuate the shears to -cut the. strip of labels the starting lever 64 is lifted by hand andv this acts through the link 68 to raise the pawl lever 73 so that ythe pawl disengagesy from the -slot 76 in the clutch jmember77. `This causesone end of the lever 73 to move'downwardly in Figure 3 and the vmotion is transmitted through the short link 83 tothe lever armKSOand the other arm of this lever carries the hook 7 9 toward the shaft i8 vso'thatitconi'es into the path of the projectionl 7 8 for the vpurpose of arresting the casing while the shaft 8 makes a complete rev-- olutioirqVVhen'thet starting lever 64 is released, the spring 67 vwill move this leverL downwardly and lallow thel pawl 75 to enter the ,notch- 76 and thus hold the shaft 8 from revolvingwith thefshearsin the openposition.-A Thisfsame action allows'the spring 82 to d-rawon its lever and' withdrawV the hook 79 from the path of theprojection78 so that the casing-905s freeto rotate( f 0.117eratz'o-a` A The Areellj49- containing the/strip ofvlaloel t'material is mounted uponthe arbor 50 and the leadinggendY of .the strip is moved "under theplate- 53' until the extreme end of the strip alignsjwith the forwardvrfpointsjfof the ser- `rations54 in theA guide platea If the machine dimensions of the labels on thestrip, theoperator may proceed to make thennecessai'y adjustment, but first it is desirableto carry thestrip across between the blades of the shearsin order to observe the effect of this adjustment. `I4`orV this purpose the ,finger pieces 6l of the strip conveying device are grasped and are moved to the left in Figure v5 until the serrations 6() of the fingers .59

enter between the serrations 54 of the guide plate 53, the arms 63 at this time being spread by pressure upon the linger pieces 6l. `llkhen Y y the conveying device is thus positioned, the finger pieces 61 may be released, whereuponthe .fingers 59 will close upon. the end of the label strip to grip. the sameand then the con-v veying device,.consisting of the sleeves 56,

58 and the arms 59 are moved to the right in j Figure until the saine comes near the rightend of t-lie shaft 54a. As the conveying device is thus moved along the shaft 54a the label strip is carried forwardly between the open blades of the several pairs of shears and.

the strip will be held in this position by the j conveyor and bythe guide strip 53 whilethe cutting action is being performed. The operator may now proceed to adjust the shears i tosuit the length of the individual labels on the strip. For this purpose the crank 36 may be turned clockwise or anti-clockwise for the purpose of rotating thejthreaded shaft 8.

This will causethe compression member 39 to move either .to the right or left in Figure y 2. Let it be assumed that when the. adjust, ment starts the compression member 39 is in the extreme left hand position and the shears are all separated from each other the maXi-.

mum distance; then if the crank 36 nis turned clockwise the shaft 8 is likewise revolved and A the compression member 39 will move to the right in Figure 2. As this takes place, the

compression member acts uponr the left hand Y pair of shears in `Figure 2 and causes theV springs 24 and 34 upon the shafts 16, -14 to ybe compressed betweenA their spring cups or between the rst and secondpairs of shears.V

Some of this moveinent'will be transmitted..

the next pair of shears will be slightly less r and so on to the extreme right hand pair of shears which latter will remain stationary. vAs the several springs 24,34 are thus compressed the 'several pairs of shear blades are shifted laterally upon their supporting shafts 16, 14, the sleeves 22, 32 and spring cups 23, 33 moving the V,shear blades. While. this movement is taking Vplace the several pairs of shearblades-are maintainedin'equallyspaced arrangement by means of the toggle lever de.

vice heretofore described. The turning of.

the crank 36 and theshaft 35 causesthe chain 4&25. to act. upon the sprockets: 43,/l5i and tofrevolve the shafts 1411, 16z on which the several compression springs, spring cups and sleeves n. 22,l 32 are mounted and I find that by thus revolving thesel shafts while the shears are being adjusted laterally the binding ofthe springs, spring oups-,and sleeves on the shafts .isxavjoided and thisrenders the lateral adv justment of the shears smooth and regular.

l/Vhen the several shears; have been laterally Vadjusted to correspond with the spacing of justing device is then left in that position yuntil such time as it is desired to cut other labels of different length. The cutting edges of the several pairs of shears will now be positioned betweentheindividual labels on theV lstrip atfthe points where the strip is to be ,severed to produce awnumber of individual labels. vThe operator now pulls up on the. starting lever 6,4, and this operates the clutch device softhat the, shaft 8 is caused to make yone lrevolutionunder the power transmitted from the, motor 4l; and at they end of this revo-` lution the `shaft 8 is arrested by thehook 7 9 ;y

j and when the leverjarm 6.4y is released the pavvl 75, again engages the clutch disc 7 7 to hold the shaft 8 stationary until another cut- Y. ting operation is tobe performed. When thel l shaft 8 is. makingthe revolution above described the eccentrics 9 are rocked and the arms 10 move upwardly and then downwardly to cause `all .of the several lmovable blades 18= ofthe shears to close in' relation to the sta- .tionary blades 12; and thus eac-h pair of j 3shears cuts. through the label strip and the separate labels fall-'away from the shears. One label will beheld by' the fingers 5,9. and

this. may be. released bypressing'the finger pieces 61. f The Strip conveying device may againbe: moved to the left along itsshaft 54a untilthe fngersi engage the endof the label strip, whereupon the conveyingdevice may be again moved to the right to draw the label strip throughthe open blades of the several pairs of shears, and the above described operationsgmay be repeated. j If it is desired toy cut labels of greater length than those for whichthe machine has been set, the crank 36 is revolved counter-clockwise v Y' `in Figure 7 and this will revolve the threaded y 55 shaft 'ingthedirection necessary tomove 'the compression y'member 39 to the left in F ig- .ure 2. lits this compression member moves y tothefpleft the pressure on the several comcon pression springs on the shafts 14, `16 is released and these several springs serve to force the shears apart so that all except the eX- tremefright handpair in Figure 2 move to the left along the supporting shafts. The

Y ,crank 36is turned ,until the shearshave been "k, spread rapart to correspond with the length 'operate the shaft 8 from the shaft 8a.

readjust ythe shears when they have once been set for 'the labels on a given strip because the variations between the number of individual labels which are out at one operation are negligible. The strip, whendrawn forwardly, may be gauged in relation to the shears so that the irregularities in the cutting of the strip need be only such as occur between the severallabels which are ycut at `one operation. Therefore, the irregularities yare notv cumulative throughout the length of the strip as would be the case if a revolving cutting device were to. act continuously upon the strip. On the other hand, it is possible at one operation to cut a number of labels from the strip, making the work much faster than if individual labels were cut byhand. While I have describedithe invention as used for cutting labels from 'a stripit will be obvious that other articles maybe cut with the machine where it is desired to produce individual pieces of equal length .from a long strip.v j f The lazytong device not only maintains the shears equally spaced (hiring their adjust* ment, but theyV also iX theshears in position whilethe machineis in operation. yIf the shears were merely held by the springs they would be subject to lateral displacement when the machine is operating. They also maintain the shears equally spaced dur-ing adjustment, whereas if this depended solelyon the springs the spacing would vary due to differences in the resistances of the rsprings on account of their lack of uniformity. The vertical bars 25 prevent the sleeves 22 from tilting and binding on the shaft 16. A

The beads 95on the sleeves 32 engage the shear blades 12 and prevent the sleeves from turning with the shaft 14. i

The pairs of shears may be readily removed by disengaging the bar 47 and lifting off the shears from the supporting shafts. This may be done when the shears require reshaipening. Some of the shears, say every alternate pair, may be removed, leaving only one half the usual number in operation, when it is desired to cut a strip having very longlabels, that is, when the labels'are' longer than the distance the shears can be spaced apart when all `of them are in position.

I prefer to use a planetary gear device to In Figure 14 I have shown the casing 90 which is loose on the shaft 8?which is provided with4 an 4:internal gear 91'. `There is a small gear v92 iiXed to the motor shaft 8a; and this operates the three small gears 93. The latter act on the internal gear 91 to revolve the shell 90. If the shell 90 is held from rotating and shaft 8 is'released, the shaft 8a acts through these lgears to operate the shaft 8.' Having described my invention, what I claim isz Y l. '1A machine ofthe class described, in-

' "c-lu'ding a plurality of cutting members arranged to cut a strip of material, springs interposedbetween said cutting members and forming the means forfhol-ding said'cutting members Vin spacedrelation to each other,

means vfor compressing'said springs by relativeinovement applied totheopposite ends 'of the plurality of cutting members whereby as the 'group of cutting members is compressed theywill be maintained in substantially equal separation by said springs, and/means for operating said cutting members `t0 cause them'to cut a strip of material-into a plurality'of'section's. v f Q. A` machine of the class described. in-

cluding a gang of shears arranged to act on"y a strip of material, springs interposed between the several shears, intending to force themflaterally'apart and forming the means Yforholdingsaid shears in spaced relation, a

compressing member for compressing said springs by acting on opposite ends of the gang `of shears so that the several shears are maintained substantially equally spaced'by`r said' springs, and means 4for operating said shears to cause them to sever said strip into a plurality of sections. j Y

` 3. A machine of the class described, including's'upports, a plurality of shears mounted on said supports for lateral adjustment toward and from each other, springsinterposed between the several shears tending to force them apart on said supports and adapted to act in succession, means acting on the severalshe'ars' for compressing said springs in successive relation to move said shears laterally toward each other, so that the several springs maintain substantially uniform separation of the shears as they are moved on said support, and means for operatingsaid shears to cause them to sever a strip into a plurality of sections; Y

4. A machine of the class described, including a plurality of supporting shafts, a plurality of pairs of shears, each pair having a blade mounted for ylateral adjustment onV said shafts, springs surrounding said shafts and interposedk between said shears to force the Vsame laterally apart, means for simultaneously compressing all of said springs to move said shears toward each other, and

. means fo'roperating said shears to cut a strip into a pluralityv of sections.

5. A machine of the class described, in-

cluding a support, a plurality of cutting members-mounted to shift onsaid support j' and adapted to act upon a strip of material, springs tending to force the several'cutting members apart from each Votheron their sup-3` 70 ports, means for simultaneously compressing all-of said springs to move said shears'toward each other, means for maintaining said cutting members spacedequidistantly apart, and

lmeans for operating said cutting members to375 lplurality of sections. Y

machine ofthe classV described, comprising supports, a plurality off pairs of'7390 shears slidably Vmounted -on' f said supports,

spr-ings interposed between the several-'pairs of shears, tending to force them laterally apart, a lazy-tong device connected with said pairs of shears to-maintain them` in equi-dis tant spacing, means 'for compressing ysaid springs to adjust the spacing of said shears,

and means for operatingsaid shears to cause them to sever ar strip into aplurality of sec-` tions.v .A Y 'y L i y 8*..A machineofftl'ie class described, including a plurality of supporting shafts, a plurality of pairs of shears slidably mounted onV said shafts, springs surrounding said shafts and-tendingv to force said shears apart`5f105 means acting on said springs to adjust the distance between the several pairsv of shears,

a lazy-tong device connected witlisaid shears for maintaining themfequallyspaced apart, and means lfor operating said shears'to cause* V110 them to-'sever ya .strip into a plurality of sections.

v S A machineofthe class described, comprising supports, a r`plurality of pairs of shears slidably mounted yon saidsupports, :115115 lazy tong device ymounted to act atoneside on the several pairs of shears to maintain uniform spacing thereof, a guiding bar pivotally connected at one point with one side of said lazy tong device and having-a sliding conneci; tion with the opposite side of said lazy tong device, andV means foroperating said shears to cause them to sever astrip into a'plurality of sections. f

l0. A machine of the class describedcom- Y prising supports, a pluralityjof pairs of shears slidably mounted on saidsupports, springs interposed between the pairs of shears and tending to force them laterally apart, a member fork compressing said `springs to adjust the spacing between the pairs of shears, a threaded shaft for moving said compressing member, and means for operating said shears to cause them to sever a strip into a plurality of sections.

11. A machine of the class described coinprising shafts, sleeves slidably mounted on shafts, a pluralityfof pairs of shears supported on said sleeves, opposed spring cups l pressing on said sleeves, springs surrounding .said shafts and interposed between said spring cups to rforce said pairs of shears apart, means for compressing said springs, and means for operating said shears to cause them to sever a strip into a plurality of sections.

12. A machine of the class' described, comprising supports, a plurality of pairs of shears movably mounted on said supports, springs acting on said shears to alter the spacing vbetween them, means for revolving said supports while the shears are being laterally adjusted, and means for'operating said shears to cause them to sever a strip into a plurality of sections.` v f` 13. A machine of the class described, including a plurality of shafts, a plurality of j pairs of shears slidably mounted on said shafts, springs on said shafts acting on the shears to force them apart, means for compressing said springs to vary the spacing of the pairs of shears, means for revolving said shafts whilethe shears are being adjusted laterally, and means for operating said shears to cause them to sever a strip into a plurality of sections. c

14C. A machine of the class described, comprising shafts,`a plurality of pairs of shears slidably mounted on said shafts, springs on said shafts interposed between t-he pairs of shears to force them laterally apart, means for compressing saidsprings to vary the lateral spacing of said shears, means for maintaining said shears spaced' equidistantly on said shafts, means for revolving said shafts while the shears are being laterally adjusted, and means for operating said shears to cause them to sever a strip into a plurality of sections. y

15. A machine of the class described comprising shafts, a plurality of pairs of shears slidably supported on said shafts, springs on i saidk shafts arranged to force said pairs of shears apart, a compressing member for compressingr said springs, a threaded shaft for operating said compressing member, means for simultaneously revolving all of said shafts, and' means for operating said shears to cause them to sever a strip into a plurality of sections. l v

16. A machine'of the class described, comprising shafts, a plurality of pairs of shears slidablyV supported on said shafts, springs in,

i terposed between said pairs of shears to force thernlaterally apart, means acting on said 

